1. Field of the Invention
Field: The present invention relates generally to the field of hair styling brushes. More specifically the present invention relates to a circular or radial type hair styling brush that accepts aerosol sprayers and a trigger mechanism for spraying a liquid from between the bristle groups onto the hair and scalp of a user.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of products have been developed by the medical and cosmetics industries over the years to overcome perceived inadequacies in people""s appearances and to enhance their looks such as to appear more youthful. One area of focus is the hair, including many types of hair dyes or colorings, aerosol and pump hair sprays to retain the hair in a desired position, nutrient sprays and products designed to grow new hair or at least to retain the person""s remaining hair. Ordinary water is often applied to the hair during cutting and styling to aid in such procedures since wet hair is generally easier to brush or comb and allows the person brushing the hair to have more control over the position of the hair. The growth of hair products and improvements in hair styling have also increased the demand for devices that apply such liquids to the hair and scalp.
Various hair brushes have been developed that include an integral liquid spraying device to facilitate spraying of a desired liquid during hair styling. For example, a hair brush which dispenses a liquid is revealed in Thiruppathi U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,290 issued on Jul. 27, 1999. Thiruppathi teaches a liquid dispensing hair brush which includes a body having an internal chamber with a liquid container disposed in the chamber. A trigger mechanism disposed within the chamber includes a trigger that partially extends from the body and which when depressed drives the liquid container relative to and within the body. A pump disposed in the container dispenses liquid from the container through a spray nozzle when the container is driven by the trigger mechanism. The pump and container are disposed in the head portion of the brush such that the pump stroke may be relatively short. The container may be removable and replaceable or refillable. However, since the hair brush is not a cylindrical styling brush, many hair styling procedures cannot be undertaken using the hair brush such as effective curling. Also, the bristled portion of the hair brush cannot be interchanged to provide the proper size for specific areas of the hair being styled, such as for straight hairstyles and curled hairstyles.
A device used to treat a scalp condition called cradle cap in infants is revealed in Muldoon U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,129 issued on Apr. 10, 2001. Muldoon teaches a device which includes a contoured handle having an internal cavity for containing a liquid such as baby oil. A comb and an opposed hair brush are attached to one end of the handle with a retractable rubber applicator operated by a switch is slidably disposed therewithin operated by a switch on the exterior of the handle. A spray head assembly is attached to an opposite end of the handle having a spray nozzle and trigger for pumping liquid from a storage chamber within the handle. However, since the hair brush is not a cylindrical styling brush, the same inherent shortcomings as Thiruppathi are present, though the presence of a comb may provide slightly more flexibility in doing straight, non-curled styling procedures.
A combined hair brush and aerosol spray device for using a brush and hair spray of an aerosol spray can in one hand is revealed in DeVincentis U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,619 issued on Dec. 10, 1985. DeVincentis teaches a device in the form of a brush which includes a hollow generally cylindrical core with bristles extending radially outwardly therefrom. The core is attached to a base which is detachably mountable to the aerosol spray can. A nozzle assembly having a plurality of nozzles in mutual communication is centrally disposed within the cylindrical core in communication with the nozzle of the aerosol spray can. A spray of hair spray is activated using a trigger lever disposed adjacent to the base of the brush, or using an extension of the nozzle assembly that protrudes beyond the cylindrical core of the brush. However, since the hair brush is only useable with pressurized aerosol spray cans of the small 2.4 ounce size, other types of liquids not available in such spray cans cannot be used. Likewise, the can is gripped during use of the device, providing a cold, non-contoured surface for gripping that would not be comfortable for the user.
A spray brush for simultaneous use with a hand-held hair dryer is revealed in Recchelbacher U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,855 issued on Jun. 19, 1990. Recchelbacher teaches a spray brush which includes a brush head having a generally flat panel formed with a number of holes therethrough, and a plurality of laterally projecting fingers with respective notches therebetween. A tubular handle of the brush forms a reservoir for a hair styling liquid. A manually actuatable pump mechanism pumps the styling liquid from the reservoir through a nozzle reciprocally disposed in a longitudinal slot formed in the panel. The spray brush may be held in one hand with a hair dryer held in the stylist""s other hand so that the hair styling composition can be directed onto a person""s head while air from the hair dryer is simultaneously directed through tie notches. However, since the hair brush is not a cylindrical styling brush, the same inherent shortcomings as Thiruppathi and Muldoon are present.
A gel dispensing hair brush for automatically dispensing hair styling gel from a plurality of hollow bristles is revealed in Asfur U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,163 issued on Feb. 8, 2000. Asfur teaches a hair brush which includes a handle portion having an open end and a closed end, with an elongate cavity therein. A brush portion is attachable to the open end of the handle portion with a reservoir in communication with the elongate cavity. A bottom wall of the brush portion has a plurality of spaced hollow bristle members in communication with the reservoir. An end portion of the brush portion is attachable to the closed end of the handle portion and includes a direct current motor for rotating a shaft and piston assembly disposed in the elongate cavity to dispense gel from the elongate cavity through the hollow bristles. However, since the hair brush is designed specifically for styling gels which are rather viscous, liquids would not be useable therein, flowing freely and uncontrollably from the ends of the bristles. Also, since the hair brush is not a cylindrical styling brush, the same inherent shortcomings as Thiruppathi, Muldoon, and Recchelbacher are present.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a misting styling brush in the form of a cylindrical styling brush which sprays a mist of liquid as a tool for busy women who need a quick hair fix and cannot take the time to do a full style.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a misting styling brush having interchangeable large and small cylindrical brushes, the large size for straight hairstyles and the small size for more curl and direction.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a misting styling brush which gives professional hair stylists and consumers the option of doing hair stylings from beginning to end or spot styling without having to re-wet the hair.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a misting styling brush that utilizes one hundred percent natural bristles, which absorbs the natural oils from the scalp and disperses the oils through the hair, conditioning and protecting hair from damage.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a misting styling brush housing a refillable or disposable mist spray bottle that pumps out over two hundred metered puffs of spray of liquid.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such a misting styling brush which has a sectioning tip at one end of the handle that flips out to section the hair, allowing control of the amount of hair to be styled, and then folds back into the handle protecting the tip from damage.
The present invention accomplishes the above-stated objectives, as well as others, as may be determined by a fair reading and interpretation of the entire specification.
A misting styling brush is provided for use with pressurized and non-pressurized cylindrical aerosol sprayers. The aerosol sprayers are of the type having a cylindrical container containing a liquid to be sprayed from the aerosol sprayer, a dispensing device connected to the container for effecting movement of the liquid from the container through an outwardly spring biased tubular outlet stem by linear actuation of the stem and a push button connected to the stem having an internal conduit for receiving the liquid under pressure from the stem and producing a fine spray of the liquid at a spray orifice at a generally right angle to the stem. The misting styling brush includes a handle assembly having a gripping portion and a brush portion, and having a longitudinal interior chamber disposed therein. A circular cross-section portion of the interior chamber extends longitudinally inwardly through the brush portion having of an inner diameter and length sufficient to completely receive the aerosol sprayer therein with the push button retained in the brush portion. The handle is adapted to retain the push button in a stationary position during use with the spray orifice radially aligned and inwardly disposed from a spray outlet hole of the handle assembly leading outwardly between the bristle groups. The dispensing device and attached container may move along a longitudinal axis of the aerosol sprayer to reciprocably actuate the stem of the dispensing device. A brush assembly includes a plurality of bristle groups that extend outwardly from the brush portion of the handle assembly. The brush assembly has a spray outlet hole that extends radially aligned with the spray outlet hole of the handle assembly, the bristle groups being arranged so as not to obstruct the spray outlet holes. A trigger assembly is connected to the handle assembly intermediate respective ends thereof having a trigger member movably connected to the handle assembly. The trigger assembly is operatively associated with the aerosol sprayer when inserted within the longitudinal interior chamber to urge the container longitudinally upon application of inwardly-directed pressure thereto to actuate the push button to emit the fine spray of the liquid at the spray orifice through the bristle groups at generally right angle to the stem. The misting brush operates by a user depressing the trigger inwardly into the handle assembly using a thumb of the user. This causes the fine spray of the liquid to be emitted at the spray orifice outwardly through the spray outlet holes of the handle assembly and the brush assembly onto a person""s hair.
The misting styling brush preferably has a brush assembly comprising a fully cylindrical brush having bristle groups substantially three-hundred-sixty degrees radially therearound, wherein the handle assembly and brush assembly that are adapted to be separable from one another. A hair pick is preferably movably connected to the handle assembly having an open position wherein the hair pick extends away from the handle assembly to allow sectioning and control of an amount of hair to be styled, and a closed position closely adjacent the handle assembly wherein the pointed pick does not extend away from the handle assembly. The misting styling brush preferably includes an end cap that assembles to the handle assembly adapted to retain the push button in a stationary position during actuation of the trigger.